Peacetrain5’s Weblog

I hope my girls never settle.  I hope they never accept another’s viewpoint as their own.  I hope they take their lives to the extreme edge of life and fulfill all desires imaginable.

I’m a feminist! There it’s out there and I won’t back down from that statement.  I won’t modify nor debate limiting the definition of same.  I feel women are every bit as capable as men to do just about anything.  If we are truthful we men probably would say women are better in most areas.

My feminist outlook has been evolving for a period of time.  Something about being the father to five girls changes a man’s worldview by softening entrenched ideals.  All the images of manhood and life are slowly melted away when I think of my girls being denied every possible chance in life imaginable. 

I’ve taught my girls from the time they were old enough to understand, possibly long before that time as well.  They were challenged and encouraged to seek the highest level of life that their dreams would allow.  That there is no summit too high that can’t be reached nor any obstacle too powerful to overcome, dreams are to be lived out loud. 

The greatest dream crusher for the female species has been the church.  Men have used this holy writ to maintain power and control everyone else.  I feel sad when I stand to teach a bible story to children and weekly find the hero to be a man.  Who is the role model for our ladies of tomorrow?  Who is their hero? 

Sure the early church fathers threw a bone to the ladies by including the likes of Phoebe and Ruth.  It seems simply unimaginable that there were so few women of influence leading the charge during this very instrumental period of humanity.  I refuse to see modern life through the same misogynist eyeglasses used in days of old.

God doesn’t create two types of people, one to dominate and the other to be sub-servant.  I don’t see it that way.  I see God calling all his creation good and men and women equal.  That what is being a feminist means to me.  Seeing women as every bit equal to men.  In many ways, women would make better pastors than men.  Compassion goes much further than punishment.

Girls…seek out the most for you lives.  Stay away from people who try to keep you down.  You need no one else to either make you happy or to fulfill you.  The world prepares a banquet before you to enjoy.  Grab a plate and load up.  Don’t wait for any man to tell you when it’s your turn. 

There are mountains to climb girls…go get busy!

Yesterday was a remarkable day, a day I honestly thought I’d never witness.  After 15 years, since I walked away from full- time ministry, I accepted a call to minister once again.  My faith has certainly evolved much as has my maturity and expectations.  I believe I’m content being me and don’t need success to feel my worth as in the past.  I also feel I understand people much better than in my youth.  I carry no illusions of grandeur about neither leadership nor parishioner, realizing they are but frail creatures of dust struggling to get by each day, just like I am.

My exodus from the church was both self imposed and church enforced.  I am confident my choice to walk away from ministry was both a spiritual and emotional consideration, which was needed by me and those in my world. 

God is very good!  God is fully aware of my strengths and my obvious weaknesses.  My comfort lies within the certain knowledge of God’s care and provision.  Gifts provided me even in times of my greatest distancing came with the directive to reminding me of an even greater purpose.

Now is the time for me to dance again.  To feel the rhythm of life beat within my softened heart.  It’s not enough to just feel that life beat but to sway to it’s moving.  My goal is live life on purpose, to live with meaning and value.  I want my life dance to reflect the depth of love I feel in my heart. 

So here we go…pray for me as I step back into the great unknown.  One filled with heartbreak, uncertainty, and frustration.  I can’t wait.

Prayer can either be the foundation of a belief system or the source of frustration that keeps us from true harmony with our creator.  De Mello pushes faith to places many find uncomfortable.  He makes prayer so simple compared to the teachings for many involving so many complexities.  These complexities seperate many from the loving embrace awaiting all of us.  Dr. De Mello takes questions and provides insightful response.

Here is the third of a four part series discussing prayer by the inspiring Anthony De Mello.  Careful attention to his teaching demands individual accountability to ones present reality.  While this may seem obscure to some, for those that see beyond the present, life long change becomes a viable option.  Be warned…The more times Dr. De Mello’s teachings are heard, more truths are revealed to the willing listener.

I’ve always found these an excellent means of wasting time.  Highlight the items that pertain to you and leave the others alone.  Pass this on to your friends and fill your time with something pointless.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (jr high – trombone)
4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/World
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo 
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18.  Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked(but never again)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping(sorry kids)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 

34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language 

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted  
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie(tv show)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square 

74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book 

82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem 

84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (Uh. No… hee hee.)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury 

91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant